Combining Ability Studies in Field Pea for Yield and its Attributes

To study the inheritance of some important yield contributing characters and yield through combining ability analysis, some selected seven parents of pea genotypes were crossed in diallel without reciprocals during Rabi2013-14. The seven parents and their 21 F1s were grown in randomized block design with three replications during Rabi 2014-15. In the field experiment, observations on 12 quantitative characters were recorded for genetic analysis. Out of 21 cross combinations, 13 crosses exhibited significant heterosis over their better parent as well as standard check. The crosses which exhibited superiority over better parent or standard parent for seed yield also exhibited significant heterosis for three to four yield components. Overall on the basis of results of mean performance, including gca andsca effects and standard heterosis, Makyatmubi X KPMR-851, Makuchabi X VL-58 andMakuchabi X Prakash were identified as the most promising cross combinations for improvement of seed yield in pea.